How much money will Larry Nassar survivors get? Grim process will determine settlements

Michigan State University announced a $500 million dollars settlement with the victims who say they were assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, multiple news outlets report. Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story.
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While the news release that announced the settlement Wednesday didn’t state how the process will work, the case likely will follow similar abuse cases --- like those settled by the Catholic church across the country --- involving dozens of victims. An independent arbitrator, typically a retired judge, is brought in to assign a dollar amount that each abuse survivor will get.

John Manly, who represents more than half of Nassar’s known victims, told USA TODAY Sports he couldn’t give details of exactly how the allocation process will work in this case, but he summarized how similar cases he’s worked were handled.

“There are going to be a variety of factors that will be taken into account,” said Manly, who represented many of the more than 500 abuse victims who settled with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2007. “The number of times somebody is abused doesn’t necessarily mean he or she will get more. Some people are abused once and are never the same. I’ve had plaintiffs who were abused on multiple occasions who ended up better off in life than a person abused once. You have to look at a lot of other factors.”

James White, another attorney who represents Nassar’s victims, also declined to talk about the settlement specifically, but he said his past cases were handled in the same way Manly detailed.

“There’s a review by a third party where different variables will be taken into account and (an arbitrator) makes recommendations,” White told USA TODAY Sports.

Those variables are plentiful – and in abuse cases – often hard to quantify.

“People think there’s some matrix the arbitrator uses to make a decision,” Raymond P. Boucher, who sued and settled with three Catholic Archdioceses in Southern California. “You can’t just divide it up evenly and give everyone the same, like what happens in class-action lawsuit against pharmaceutical and medical device companies.”

The arbitrator, who is typically chosen by lawyers representing the victims, has access to the case files for each victim that detail the abuse. If there are questions about a victim’s case, the arbitrator could request more information from the lawyer representing that victim, Boucher said.

“They’re going to look at the nature and extent of the abuse and what psychological, physical and emotional impact it had,” said Boucher, who was not connected to any of the lawsuits involving Michigan State. “They’re going to want to know what lasting legacy that abuse had on the victim.”

The process could be completed in as few as three months. Boucher said the money will likely be fully distributed by year's end.

Once the victim agrees to the allocation process, he or she is bound by whatever amount the arbitrator sees fit to award. The victims in the Michigan State case could opt out now and sue Michigan State individually.

A total of $425 million will be available to the current pool of victims that sued Michigan State and another $75 million is set aside for victims who have yet to come forward. Of the $500 million, about a third will go to legal fees.

“There isn’t enough money in the world to compensate what was done to these victims,” Boucher said. “There’s no money that can bring them back to a place where they were before they were abused. Any dollar amount would be inadequate, but at the same time that’s the best our system can do.”

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Famed gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi stands in a lodge on his 2,000-acre ranch in the middle of Sam Houston Forest. Initially bought as a hunting camp, Karolyi turned it into a world-class gymnastics facility that eventually became the training center for the U.S. women
Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Olympic Rings sit in a field on the Karolyi ranch. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate claims of sexual misconduct that may have occurred at the ranch.
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The Karolyi Ranch, long a training site of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team, is located down a secluded road in Sam Houston National Forest. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday the state was launching an investigation of the ranch, which has been at the center of sexual assault allegations by former gymnasts.
Rick Jervis/USA TODAY

Gymnasts eat in the cafeteria at the Karolyi ranch. USA Gymnastics had planned to purchase a portion of the 2,000 acre ranch to use as a permanent training facility after Martha Karolyi retired as national team coordinator in 2016, but backed off after gymnasts said they had been abused there by Larry Nassar.
Dave Einsel for USA TODAY

Memorabilia covers the walls of the original gym, where Mary Lou Retton, Kim Zmeskal and Kerri Strug once trained. Bela Karolyi later built a larger, more modern gym next door that would become the site of monthly training camps for the women's national team.
Dave Einsel for USA TODAY

The Karolyi ranch, where the women's national gymnastics team trained for more than 15 years, is located down a secluded road in Sam Houston National Forest. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday the state was launching an investigation of the ranch, which has been at the center of sexual assault allegations by former gymnasts.
Rick Jervis/USA TODAY

Bela Karolyi originally purchased his ranch as a hunting camp, and continued to keep cattle, deer, peacocks and camels on the 2,000-acre property even after he began using it as a gymnastics facility.
Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY